Press Releases

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, Klobuchar releases new state-by-state report showing nearly half of all American mothers work full-time outside the home and more than one-third are their families’ sole income-earner

May092013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, today released a new ‘Mother’s Day’ report showing that nearly half of all American mothers work full-time outside the home, while another sixteen percent work part-time. The state-by-state report finds that one in three of those mothers is the sole income-earner in her family, underscoring the critical role mothers play in ensuring the financial well-being of American families.

“Moms know that motherhood is by far the hardest and most rewarding job a person can have.” Klobuchar said. “With nearly half of all American moms now working full-time outside the home, their economic contributions have never been more important and this report highlights the need to fight for policies that support and lift up women.”

According to the report released today, mothers are the only job holders in over 7.3 million American families. In married-couple families, more than 36 percent of moms are the primary breadwinner. The report also noted that mothers are concentrated in particular industries, including health care and social assistance, professional and business services, retail trade, and education.

Klobuchar has long pushed to level the playing field for women in the workplace. In 2008, she was named “Best in Congress” by Working Mother Magazine for her work on behalf of working families. She was a cosponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was passed into law in 2009 and restores a reasonable time limit in which people can file pay discrimination claims. She is also a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who discuss or disclose salary information with their co-workers.